


The Lab Partner

by ellie_elle, thescarletwoman, Zorro_sci



Category: The Avengers
Genre: Budding Romance, College!AU, M/M, alternating pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-07 01:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3155195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellie_elle/pseuds/ellie_elle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/thescarletwoman/pseuds/thescarletwoman, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zorro_sci/pseuds/Zorro_sci
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce Banner and Tony Stark are paired together to work on a lab project.  Bruce thinks they'll be lucky to both finish alive, but Tony sees something more between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lab Partner

**"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Stark," the professor called as I entered the room.**

**Asshole. Just because he had a bully pulpit he felt he needed to use it. He must feel like some sort of big man for being able to call out Howard Stark's kid in front of the class. Just like the smug bastard had delighted in informing me that if I didn't attend his class seventy-five percent of the time or more he would fail me.**

**Honestly, what was the point of making me be there other than to flex his professorial power. I had already mastered everything he was teaching in his class before I was even ten years old, but apparently there was a limit on how many classes you could test out of, so I would just have to get through it. But there was no way he could make me come on time, and when I was working on projects that were _actually_ worth my time, he would just have to suck up that his class was going to take second place.**

**The one difference this time was some curly-headed kid, (What was his name? Bobby, or Bryce, or something like that), was glaring at me as I took my seat. I was not quite sure what his problem was. It's not like my tardiness affected him, and if he was so much of a teacher's pet that he was offended on behalf of our useless professor, well, he would just have to deal with it.**

**"As I was saying before we were interrupted," the professor said pointedly as he turned toward me. "Your lab partner assignments for the rest of the term are behind me. There is no switching, so don't even try it."**

**I looked behind the old windbag and saw that my assigned partner was "Bruce Banner." Who was Bruce Banner . . . Oh yeah, that was who was scowling at me. Well, at least that made sense now. Well, might as well get to it.**

**"So, it looks like we're working together," I said as I walked up to the guy, who looked like he had that scowl permanently etched on his face, and flashing him my best press smile.**

**"Unfortunately," he mumbled.**

**Well, wasn't he cheerful.**

**"So look, I'm basically stuck in this class because they they told me I tested out of too many, but this is pretty much science 101 for me. And if I remember the scores from our last few tests correctly, you're one of the few people in this class who actually have a brain, so I'm sure you must feel the same way," I started.**

**"Regardless of how I feel, we need to get this done," he said. "And I expect you to actually be here for it. Don't think I haven't noticed that you're chronically late. The prof has had enough of it. He said that starting next time he's not going to let late arrivals into the room. Which you would have heard if you were actually _on time_ for once."**

**Was this guy for real? Here I thought he might actually be worth talking to because he was the only one whose test scores could rival mine, and it turned out he's nothing more than a teacher's pet. Forget that. I had far better things to do than march to the prof and his little minion's drum.**

**"Yeah, sure, see you around," I dismissed as I walked out.**

**What a loser.**

_**I drummed my fingers anxiously on the desk as I watched the clock tick down to the start of class. With each sweep of the second hand, students filed in to take their places… all save one. I glanced at the empty stool beside me and sighed. Clearly this was too good to be true to be paired up with him of all people.** _

_**Lab partners. Christ. What higher power thought this was a good idea?** _

_**The teacher swept into class five minutes late and, with that, would allow no more stragglers to enter. Which, consequently, meant I was left to fumble through the experiments on my own. It wasn’t that I couldn’t handle the material — nothing of the sort. The only problem was that so many of these experiments needed two people to carry them out.** _

_**What the hell could be more important than class? Or was this the legendary “Tony Stark Doesn’t Give A Fuck Because He’s Richer Than God?” Whichever it was — it meant that I was going to fall behind and I couldn’t afford to fail one of the classes in my major. I'm here on scholarship and anything less than perfection would get me thrown out faster than you could say “fuck off Tony Stark.”** _

_**The moment the professor released us for the day, I made a beeline for the dormitory. Tony better be throwing up, in the hospital, or bleeding profusely from a head wound just received… nope. None of the above. Sitting on his bed, playing with— oh who cared what it was.** _

_**I snatched the tablet out of Tony’s hands, barely managing to stifle the urge to bash him over the head with it.** _

_**“Are you learning impaired?” I snapped.** _

_**“I thought we already established that both of us are geniuses so I’m going to go with no,” Tony replied. “Now, will you give me back my damn tablet.”** _

_**I growled.** _

_**“You’re a dick,” I snarled. “You know we have class today and you know you’re supposed to show up on time and, you know, help your partner out.”** _

_**“And you, Mr. Banner,” Tony said, swinging his legs around so he sat up. “Need to learn to chill out. You’ll give yourself an aneurism if you continue on like this.”** _

_**“Yes, because you’re rich it doesn’t matter. Well it does to some of us, so why don’t you start paying attention to people other than yourself and show up to class. The prof is assigning up our month-long project on Tuesday. If you’re not in class that day so help me…”** _

_**Tony reached out and made a grab for the tablet. I didn’t try to pull it away.** _

_**“Fine fine. See you in class on Tuesday Mr. Tight-Ass. And if you’re going to the Union any time soon, can you grab me some food? I’m starving.”** _

_I was on my way to the cafeteria when Bruce sidetracked me._

_“Have you seen Tony?”_

_I instinctively frowned. “Luckily, no,” I said, “and you should be happy you didn’t either.”_

_I was already going to leave when Bruce groaned and put his head in his hands. His exasperation confused me._

_“Why is he suddenly so important to you? Last week you didn’t even know who he was.”_

_“Last week I wasn’t paired up with him for a science project.”_

_I inhaled sharply. “Oh-oh. Wouldn’t want to be in your place, man.”_

_“That makes two of us.”_

_I laughed, but stopped when I saw Bruce wasn’t amused. “By the way,” i said, “I found your slippers.”_

_“What?!”_

_“The ones you lost?”_

_“Oh, right. Yeah. How?”_

_“I cleaned up our room, obviously. As you should have done, mind you, we had a deal.”_

_Bruce lifted a finger, “I’m working on a project, so…”_

_“Sure, sure.”_

**"Stark! Stark!! I know you're in there, answer the door!" an angry voice yelled from the other side of the door, pulling my mind away from my blueprints.**

**Why would anyone be banging on my door . . Oh, it was Tuesday.**

**"What's up, Banner?" I said casually as I opened the door, trying to calm him down.**

**It didn't work.**

**"'What's up?!!" he mocked in a rage. "'What's up' is that you said you'd be in class today, but once again you blew it off!"**

**"I got distracted."**

**It was the truth. I had been working on my design for a fully sentient AI, and well, I lost track of time. It happens.**

**"You got distracted!?! Great! I'm going to lose my scholarship and get kicked out of college, because you got distracted! Do you ever think about anyone but yourself?!?**

**Obviously not, or you have been there today. You're such a self-centered asshole!**

**No one else may call you on your bullshit, but I'm not going to take it! I don't care who your father is, or how rich you are; I _need_ this grade! And I can't do this work alone. So Mr. Genius show me that you're not all talk and let's see that brain of yours at work.**

**From now on, whether you like it or not you're going to go to class, and you _are_ going to work with me both on the daily labs and on our project, which thanks to you is on the topic no one else wanted, since I had to pick last because 'my partner didn't deem it necessary to come to class.'"**

**Wow, I really hadn't expected that from Banner. Sure, he had been pissed last time, but I didn't figure that a skinny little nerd like him would have the guts to stand up to me. And if he truly meant what he said about caring more about my brains than anything else . . .well, that's what I wanted. I got so sick of being "Howard Stark's kid," so if he was willing to see me for me, then maybe I should stop blowing him off, and actually try.**

**"Alright, Banner. You win. When do we start?" I said holding up my hands in surrender.**

**"How about right now?" he said, his voice suddenly calm and level, (how did he do that?).**

**I nodded and we got to work.**

**_Working on an extended lab project with Tony Stark was an exercise in patience. In other words, for me, it was nearly impossible to keep my cool and work on our project at the same time._ **

**_Really, if we managed to get out of this both in one piece, it’d be a damn miracle._ **

**_Tony was smart, that much was patently clear. However, just because he possessed above-average intelligence meant he thought such stupid things like ‘school’ were beneath him. So we'd start out just fine but half-way through, he’d start pulling in plans for this robotic assistant he was working on. Affectionately (?) named Dum-E, this little guy took up more of Tony’s brainspace than our actual assignment._ **

**_So far I had snapped fifteen pencils, destroyed 30 paperclips, and thrown six books across the room._ **

**_Tony had yet to get the point. Or see just how much he was pissing me off._ **

**_Or… well, even get half of what we needed to have accomplished._ **

**_Asshole._ **

**_And yet… and yet through it all, I couldn’t help but notice the curl of Tony’s hair as it fell across his eyes, or the way his eyebrows knit together in concentration. I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to Tony on some sort of a base level… that is, until Tony opened his mouth and ruined everything._ **

**_So maybe if Tony were gagged…and if only I were into that sort of thing…_ **

**Working with Bruce was so much better than I had anticipated. I knew he was smart, but I had no idea just _how_ brilliant he was. He kept up with me word for word, and he even was able to improve upon my ideas. That had never happened before, even on the rare occasions where someone could actually understand over half of what I was saying.**

**More than that, Bruce actually had a really great sense of humor once he let his guard down. Okay, he made a lot of really nerdy jokes, but they were still funny, and his laugh was infectious, (and when he actually really smiled it made his eyes light up, and don't I sound like a girl with a crush). He also had a tendency to throw books and break pencils, and get this cute little crease between his eyebrows when my mind inevitably wandered to one of my other projects, but that was endearing too.**

**The only downside was that we spent most of our time working in Bruce's dorm, (apparently I got too easily distracted when we're in my room . . .whatever), and Bruce's roommate was like a Shakespearean villain. I swear that guy had to be unhinged. He'd just sit there, staring at us like a cat toying with mice before it ate them. It gave me the creeps.**

**Freaky roommates aside, working on the project with Bruce was the best part of my day. He just seemed to get me, and he really didn't seem to care about any of the other stuff people seemed to fixate on. Even if there were times I seemed to annoy him to no end.**

_I looked up from the book I'd been reading, only to frown at what I saw. It looked like my roommate was sitting next to Tony Stark and angrily trying to explain something to him. The only thing was, Tony wasn’t listening to him._

_I chuckled and thanked God he wasn’t in Bruce’s place. There was nothing I could imagine that was worse than his fate – maybe working with Thor, but that was debatable._

_I was going to go back to minding my own business when something caught my eye. I noticed Tony couldn’t stop smiling at Bruce when Bruce wasn’t looking. And if Bruce did look up, and kept talking about whatever it was they were working on, Tony would suddenly drop it and look like he was bored, which Bruce obviously found even more annoying._

_Tony seemed to like Bruce when he was annoyed. And I found that entire thing very suspicious._

_Well. As long as they stayed out of the room, I would be okay._

**All good things, and all class projects, come to an end. The day finally came to turn in our project, but I found myself reluctant to do so. Not because we hadn't finished, (we had, with time to spare, and there was not a doubt in my mind that it would be far and away the best project in the whole class), but because turning it in meant that I wouldn't have anymore reason to spend time with Bruce.**

**In the weeks we had worked on the project he had become the thing I looked forward to most in my day. Talking to him, working with him; they were the best things about my day. Thinking about not spending time with him, not seeing his face or his unruly curls, or hearing his corny jokes made me want to extend the project indefinitely.**

**"Well, I guess that's that," he said, pulling me from my thought.**

**"I guess so," I agreed.**

**_Screw this. Who says this has to be the end?_ **

**And with that thought I pulled him close and kissed him.**

**At first he froze, and I thought I had made a mistake. My stomach flipped as I thought that I had really made a mess of things this time, but then he started to kiss me back, and it was amazing.**

**"Oh," he said as he pulled back, his cheeks adorably flushed.**

**"Yeah, oh," I replied. "So, um, would you like to go out with me tomorrow night?"**

**He nodded, and I had to resist the urge to fist pump the air in triumph.**

_I was in the middle of drawing when Bruce slammed the door open._

_“For crying out loud!” I yelled, turning around to look at Bruce, “You made me ruin everything!”_

_Bruce had thrown himself on his bed and didn’t seem to be listening. He was just staring off into space._

_“Hey!” I shouted._

_“What? Sorry – what?”_

_I lifted up my drawing which now had a long crooked line halfway across the frame._

_“Oh. Sorry,” Bruce said curtly, and didn’t really sound like he was sorry. I just knew something was going on._

_“What happened?”_

_“Nothing happened.”_

_“I know when you’re lying.”_

_Bruce sighed. “Just leave me be.”_

_“…Okay,” I concurred and went back to drawing._

_A few minutes passed before Bruce spoke again._

_“Tony kissed me. What do I do?” He sounded concerned._

_And I messed up my drawing again. “Oh, for crying out loud. I knew it.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“I knew he would kiss you.”_

_“Wha—“_

_“Was he good at it?”_

_“Uh… yes.”_

_“Were you ok with that?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“So where’s the problem?”_

_Bruce frowned. “I… I don’t think there is one.”_

_I nodded. “In that case, what you do is you go out with him, try to know him better, and hope everything you know about him thus far is wrong.”_

_Bruce rubbed his eyes. “I don’t think I do, though.”_

_I made a face. “I would. And don’t bring him in here under any circumstances.”_

**_I have no idea what possessed me to agree to the second date, if only because the first one went surprisingly well. Amazing what happened when there wasn’t something to be working on and Tony wasn’t distracted. If anything, it was actually nice to be the center of someone’s attention like that. While I still didn’t know what possessed Tony to ask me out on the first date, I wasn’t going to complain._ **

**_Besides, when Tony was trying to act like a gentleman and impress… he was actually nice. I could feel those stirrings in the pit of my stomach even as I tried to figure out why exactly Tony Stark wanted to go on not one but two dates with me. It made absolutely no sense whatsoever._ **

**_Tony was from one class of people, I was from another. The only things we had in common were that we were geniuses, and shared most of the same science classes. Was that anything you could build a relationship on?_ **

**__**Come on, Banner, who said anything about a relationship? This is dinner... not a marriage proposal?

**_Still, even as I climbed into the car with Tony and was whisked off to some new fancy restaurant, I couldn't help but wonder if I was really someone that Tony could date. Hell, what would Tony's parents say if they knew we were dating?_ **

**_I didn't fit in. This wasn't my world. It was nice to visit, but I didn't have a place there._ **

**_With a sigh, I sank back into the leather seat even as I saw Tony's hand covered my own._ **

**_I knew his hand was there, but I barely registered the touch._ **

_"What was it like?” I asked as soon as Bruce closed the door behind him and leaned on them._

_Bruce sighed. “Shut up,” he said, which made me chuckled._

_“Aww, it’s cute when you’re shy.”_

_“It’s scary when you are… like this.”_

_I shrugged. “I just want to see if you had fun.”_

_Bruce seemed to have to think about it. “I… yeah, I did,” he finally said, and the reluctance in his words was strange to me._

_“What?” I asked him._

_“Nothing.”_

_“What is it?”_

_Bruce’s shoulders slumped. “It… it’s kind of… I don’t know. Look, I had fun ok? I just… hope he did too, you know?”_

**Bruce was so different than anyone I had ever known. He was genuine, when so many people were phony. He was brilliant, and singular, and I wanted to give him the world. I tried so hard to do that for him. I took him to the finest restaurants, and surprised him every now and again with gifts, but that seemed to make him uncomfortable.**

**Maybe he felt like I was showing off, or trying to lord my wealth over him, (though nothing could be further from the truth), so I dialed it back a little. I gave fewer gifts, we went to the afternoon matinee at the movies and Applebee's or Burger King. If it made Bruce feel more comfortable, it was worth it. I would go anywhere if it meant getting to spend time with him.**

**Spending time with him was what I thought about more and more. It even kept my attention longer than my plans for my AI, or my robot assistant. It was the first thing I thought about in the morning and the last thing I thought about at night, and even though that made me a sappy stereotype, I didn't care. All I cared about was spending ever possible minute I could with Bruce.**

**What I felt for him was all encompassing, and I needed to let him know. So I put together a picnic basket of sandwiches, (what can I say? I was trying to be romantic, but I also didn't want to give him food poisoning, and I really can't cook), strawberries, chocolate and champagne, and brought him to nearby park for a romantic dinner.**

**We ate our sandwiches and watched the sun go down snuggled together on the blanket, and as the stars started to come out I looked over at him, and I just couldn't hold back what I was thinking any longer.**

**"I love you, Bruce," I whispered close to the shell of his ear, leaning in to kiss him.**

**"What?!?" he asked, his voice sounding slightly panicked.**

**"I love you," I repeated, my voice certain.**

**What was going on? We had seemed like we were on the same page before, why did he seem so spooked?**

**"I . . . I . . . I just can't, Tony," he stuttered as he stood to leave.**

**I stared after him in shock as he walked away, and I was left alone. Always alone.**

_**I ran away from our picnic site as fast as I could. This was too much.** _

He loves me?!? How could he love me?!? He barely knows me!

Besides, he's Tony Stark. One day he'll inherit a big corporate empire and go on to change the world with his brilliance, and me? I'll be lucky if I ever get the chance to even become somewhat well known with in the scientific community.

He's brilliant, and he could have his pick of anyone he wanted. Why would he pick me? What do I have to offer? Was this some attempt to piss off his parents by dating some scholarship kid with next to no prospects? Nothing to further the renown of the Stark family name? Add in that he was a guy just to twist the knife a little?

He couldn't possibly love me. No one does. He **has** to have some sort of angle.

**_I ran all the way back to my dorm and threw myself onto my bed. Well, I knew it had to end. I just didn't think it would end like this._ **

_When I got back to the room that night, i was surprised to find the place dark and Bruce on the bed covered from head to toe in his blanket, and shaking._

_“Bruce?”_

_“Wha?”_

_And, just as I had assumed, Bruce was crying, but trying to sound like he wasn’t._

_“What happened?”_

_Bruce sniffed. “As if you don’t know.”_

_I tried to approach this with caution, but failed. “Tony dumped you?”_

_“……Well…”_

_“What?”_

_“He… uh. He didn’t. He said he loved me.”_

_I was going to say something, but paused, “—Wait, are those tears of joy?”_

_“What? No! Stop trying to be funny, it’s not funny.”_

_“Well. Under usual circumstances, people in love would be ecstatic—“_

_“I know what people in love would be! But this is… different.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Cause… he can’t… he can’t love me.”_

_“Obviously he can if he said so.”_

_Bruce sat up and removed the blanket from his face. “What I mean is that he can’t love someone like me cause there’s nothing to love about me!”_

_That shut me up. We just stared at each other, but neither of us spoke._

_“Do you really think so?”_

_“Yes. Now leave me alone,” Bruce said, laying back down and pulling the blanket up over his head._

_“You really think so.” I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it._

_“I said yes. He doesn’t need someone as pathetic as me. Leave me be.”_

_I wanted to tell him something, but there was too much to say, and in the end I said nothing at all._

 

**After the night where Bruce left me alone in the park I didn't see him for a week. He didn't come to class, and he never seemed to be in the Student Union when I sought him out at meal times. I considered going to his dorm room, but I didn't want to seem too pushy.**

**Apparently I had really fucked up. I came on way too strong, and now Bruce was avoiding me. But still . . . I couldn't see how what I had done was so wrong. Shouldn't I have let him know how I feel?!? Didn't he have the right to know that I loved him?!?**

**Maybe it wasn't that I screwed up. Maybe it was just that he didn't want me. Maybe he just thought I was obnoxious, and self-centered, and an ass like everyone else, and he wanted nothing to do with me. I thought he saw past all of that; knew it was just an act I put on because I'd been screwed over so many times before, but maybe he didn't. Maybe he just had had enough of me . . .but if he had, he could at least have the courtesy of telling me. It would hurt to hear that, but it would be better than not knowing.**

**As the week went on, I grew more and more desperate, so finally I decided to ask some guy in my English Literature class, who claimed to be Loki's brother, for Bruce's obnoxious roommate's number. If anyone knew what was happening with Bruce, it would be Loki. There was only so much you could hide when you shared a room.**

****

[outgoing text to: Loki]

Hey, Loki, it's Tony. I need help.

**I looked down at the sent message. It sounded pretty desperate, but if I was honest, I _was_ desperate. I just hoped that Loki wouldn't be so pissed off with me that he wouldn't respond.**

__

I need help. - T

You finally realize it. – L

Shut up, moron. - T

Mature. Also, I don’t think it’s particularly clever to insult the person you’re asking to help you. - L

You know what, never mind. Forget I said anything. – T

I assume this is about Bruce. – L

Yeah. – T

I need to talk to him. – T

It’s about time you do, he’s been seriously depressed lately. - L

Well, I wouldn’t know cause he’s been avoiding me all week. - T

He hasn’t been avoiding you, idiot, he hasn’t even left his bed. - L

You’re joking - T

No. Also, I’d sooner assume it’s you who’s been avoiding him, since you did not care to check if he was… I don’t know… in his room? - L

TELL me you’re joking. - T

I am not joking. - L

What about his lectures? - T

That’s a good question. He’s absolutely miserable. Where were you? - L

Tony? - L

I didn’t want to be too pushy. - T

Well waiting for a WEEK not only made you look not pushy, but also like a selfish asshole. - L

Listen, can you just… set something up? So I can talk to him? - T

Come to our room at 5pm. I’ll be there at that time, so I can open the door for you. - L

Open the door for me? Your set-up skills are absolutely awe-inspiring. - T

Stop acting like a smart-ass. He asks me to lock it when I’m going out, and I highly doubt he’ll get up to let anyone in, much less YOU. Like this he’ll have to listen to you. - L

Well, that was simple. Thank you, master of setting up. - T

Ugh.-L

**I approached Bruce's dorm and knocked like Loki had told me to, and was relieved to find that he opened the door and Bruce was there just as he had said. I had been worried that Bruce would be out, or maybe that all of this was just some sick trick by Loki.**

**"Loki said you needed to talk to me. What do you want?" Bruce said without preamble.**

**"I want to know what's going on with us. I tell you 'I love you,' and then you run off and I don't hear from you for a week! Do you want to break up?!? What's going on? Talk to me, Bruce," I pleaded, (to hell with my pride).**

**"What's going on? Tony, you said you love me. You barely know me.**

**You're this amazing genius who has the world at his fingertips, and I'm just some poor kid here on scholarship. I could never belong in your world, and you know it. Your parents would never accept me, and we could never make it work.**

**It's better for everyone if we end this now, before we get anymore attached," Bruce explained urgently.**

**"You think I care about that stuff? So what if you're here on a scholarship, do you really think I'm shallow enough to care about that? You're brilliant, and funny in a nerdy way, and you _get_ me, and you're a good person. That's what matters to me. That's why I love you. And if my parents don't approve, so what? It's my decision, and I choose _you_ , because all that glitters isn't gold, and you are worth so much more than any of that," I said earnestly, hoping he would believe me.**

**_I stared at Tony incredulously. Could he truly mean what he was saying? Did he really love me for just being me? The thought was overwhelming._ **

**_I couldn't think of what to say, so I said, "You know you totally misused that expression."_ **

**_"You knew exactly what I meant, Banner," he shot back._ **

**_I bit my lower lip and nodded. I did, and there was only one way I could respond to that . . ._ **

**_"I love you too, Tony."_ **

**_And with those five little words, Tony's face lit up like the brightest star on a clear night, and I couldn't help but marvel at how stunning he looked. Then, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, and I knew that I was exactly where I belonged. I might not belong in the circles that Tony traveled in, and I probably never would, but there was no doubt that I belong with Tony; and that was exactly where I wanted to be._ **


End file.
